Tracking Lobbyist Spending in 2014

Money spent lobbying the government is a good indication of the biggest issues at stake in politics–and who’s trying to influence their outcomes.

Before Congress breaks for summer, here’s a look at which companies and industries have spent the most on lobbying them. The numbers comes from analysis of data from the Senate Office of Public Records by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan nonprofit that’s been tracking lobbying money in government since 1998. So far this year, $1.62 billion has been spent on lobbying.

This year, as always, the biggest spender is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has already spent $54.4 million; search the bills it’s lobbying for by year here. Google has moved up a few spots in rank, spending $9.3 million in 2014, in a large part advocating for patent reform.

The pharmaceuticals/health products industry has spent the most out of any industry so far this year. The industry has also spent the most out of any industry, since CRP began tracking lobbying in 1998.

While the total lobbying amount and number of registered, active lobbyists has gone down, the amount spent per lobbyists has remained roughly consistent. Spending peaked in 2010 thanks in part to Wall Street financial institutions and the Chamber of Commerce fighting aspects of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act.

Money-In-Politics Reporter at CRP Russ Choma says that while 2014′s total lobbying expenditures are expected to be double the first two quarters, plenty can happen. We’ll have to wait until the end of the year to see how 2014 truly stacks up.

About The Numbers

The Wall Street Journal examines numbers in the news, business and politics. Some numbers are flat-out wrong or biased, while others are valid and help us make informed decisions. We tell the stories behind the stats in occasional updates on this blog.